Hello again!
I just have to say that I have the absolute best reviewers! You all rock! Give yourselves a big round of applause.. *hands clapping energetically* Thank you so much!!
Enjoy the next installment!
*~* Yami to Yugi *~*
*~~* Yugi to Yami *~~*
*~*~*~*
Part 7: Avoidance
"It's about time!"
Yugi smiled at the outburst, glad to see the sheer happiness and relief in Joey's face. Suddenly and without warning, Joey grabbed his shoulders, lifted him up and tightly embraced him. Yugi groaned in pain before he could stop himself, causing Joey to immediately release him. Yugi lay back on the bed, wincing.
"I'm sorry, Yugi, I should have been more careful."
"It's okay, Joey," Yugi said, feeling bad at the look of guilt on Joey's face. "I'm just still a little sore."
A little sore was seriously undermining the pain, however. Yugi's body felt as if it had been used for punching practice, which he supposed in a way, it had been. He looked down at his hands, seeing the white cast surrounding his right wrist and the two splints around his fingers. He lowered the sheet and winced even more at the sight of his bruised arms. He didn't have to look to see that his chest and legs probably looked the same.
"They did quite a number on you, Yug. What happened? Who attacked you?"
Yugi looked back up at his friend, debating whether or not to be entirely truthful. He wanted to tell Joey what had happened, but he didn't want to involve his friend in something he knew was bound to be dangerous.
"I don't really remember what happened, Joey."
*~* Lying to your best friend, Yugi? *~*
*~~* It's not a lie, it's an omission, Yami *~~*
"Yugi, you okay? You're spacing out."
Yugi smiled slightly, trying to reassure his friend. "I'm fine, Joey. Just a bit confused. How did I get here?"
Yugi saw Joey take a deep breath as he deposited his long body into a chair beside the bed. Yugi could see the differing emotions flickering through Joey's eyes and knew that whatever happened had left a deep impression on the older teenager. He reached out and lay his right hand on top of the hand Joey had left on the bed, trying to comfort his friend. Joey looked up at him and grinned sheepishly, before getting serious.
"Téa and I found you in the alley. Geez, Yug, I thought you were dead. There was so much blood and you looked so pale." Joey trailed off, and Yugi could see that Joey's other hand had been clenched into a fist. "I didn't know what to do. I literally ran into Kaiba as we were leaving the alley and demanded that he bring us to the hospital in his car. He obliged, and here we are."
"Kaiba brought me here?"
Joey nodded. "Hard to believe, isn't it? The cold hearted bastard actually has a heart. Either that, or he didn't like the fact that I reminded him that he owed you for saving him and Mokuba from Pegasus."
Yugi nodded, understanding the situation. He felt guilty that his friends had gotten involved in this. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.
*~* It's not your fault, Yugi, you know that. *~*
*~~* It is my fault. Look at Joey, he feels so bad about what happened and he wasn't responsible at all. *~~*
*~* Joey is your friend, of course he feels responsible *~*
"I should go and get the doctor, Yugi. I should get Gramps in there too, he's been really worried."
Yugi nodded and watched Joey go. He closed his eyes, letting himself feel every ache, every broken bone and bruised part of his body. He felt weak, disoriented and very tired. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep for a very long time.
"Yugi!"
The relieved and happy voice brought Yugi back to wakefulness, and he found himself staring at his grandfather's tear filled eyes. Thankfully, his grandfather was standing very close to him, or else Yugi would have had a hard time distinguishing him.
"Grandpa."
His grandfather walked carefully to the bed, leaned over and kissed Yugi's forehead, before taking his uninjured hand and squeezing it between his own.
"How are you feeling, Yugi? You had us all so worried."
"I'm okay. I'm in a little pain, but I'm okay."
Yugi looked behind his grandfather to see Joey standing there. Tea stood beside him, along with Tristan. Bakura stood behind all the others, close to the door. Upon more careful inspection, Yugi noticed that the only thing keeping Bakura in the room was Tristan's grasp on the boy's arm.
"Bakura, are you okay?"
The white haired boy seemed startled at being addressed. He looked at Yugi momentarily, before bowing his head.
"I'm fine, Yugi. I'm glad to see you're okay," came the soft reply.
Yugi frowned and noticed Tristan looking at him. The teenager shook his head slightly, signaling to Yugi to drop the subject. Yugi frowned, but decided to comply. He'd ask Tristan about it later. He looked at the rest of his friends and smiled gratefully.
"Thank you for being here. It means so much to me."
They all smiled widely.
"It was our pleasure Yugi," Téa said.
"Yeah, we're just glad you're okay," Tristan added.
"Okay, kids, I need you to leave the room now so I can examine my patient," an older, kind gentleman said as he walked into the room. He walked up to Yugi and smiled at him.
"Hello, Mr. Moto, you gave us quite a scare. I'm Dr. Suzuki, your physician. How are you feeling?"
Yugi looked up at the man and smiled slightly. "I'm fine."
Dr. Suzuki turned to everyone else. "Could you all please leave the room? I'd like to talk to Yugi for a few minutes."
They all nodded and complied, closing the door behind them.
"Okay, they're all gone now. Why don't you tell me how you really feel?"
Yugi examined the doctor, noting his relaxed posture and kind demeanor. He was tempted to lie to the man, but he figured that as his doctor, it was his duty to know what was going on.
"My head hurts," Yugi said and raised his left hand to probe at the bandage around his head. He stopped at the right temple and pressed down a bit. "Right here, it's worse."
The doctor nodded. "You had a skull fracture, Yugi. That's why you were unconscious for so long. The headache is a normal part of the recovery. Are you experiencing any dizziness or nausea?"
Yugi thought about it for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "I am a bit dizzy and I'm having some trouble seeing." His eyes widened as he looked up at the doctor. "It's not permanent, is it?"
The doctor chuckled. "No, it isn't. The swelling in your brain hasn't completely gone down, which is why your vision is blurred, and why you're dizzy and nauseous. Give it a couple of days and it'll be gone. How does the rest of your body feel?"
Yugi sighed and closed his eyes again. "It hurts. I feel like I've been run over."
Dr. Suzuki opened up the chart he was carrying and began writing in it.
"You took quite a beating, Yugi. Over time, you will recover. However, you have to take it easy. We have you on antibiotics to fight any possible infection, on painkillers for the pain, and on saline to hydrate you. You'll have to stay here a few more days, before I can release you to go home. For now, get some sleep. I'll tell your family and friends that you're going to be okay."
"Thank you, doctor."
The doctor nodded and left the room.
*~* You're lying to your doctor too? *~*
Yugi sighed as he heard his other half's voice in his head. He didn't fell like arguing with Yami about what information he was or was not willing to give.
*~~* I didn't lie. I told him that I felt lousy, didn't I? *~~*
*~* Not really. You told him what you thought he wanted to hear. Your vision is a lot more than blurry, and you know it. You should tell him that you can barely see anything. *~*
*~~* I don't want grandpa and everyone else to worry. The doctor said it would go away in a few days and it will. I need to get out of there, though *~~*
*~* Why, Yugi? Where do you need to go? *~*
*~~* I need to talk to Kaiba *~~*
****
"Big brother, why don't we go to the hospital to see Yugi?"
Seto Kaiba looked up from his computer to find Mokuba perched on his desk, staring at him intently. The younger boy's hair was disheveled, a clear sign that he'd been outside playing.
"We were just there yesterday, Mokuba."
"We didn't get anywhere near Yugi's room, Seto. You didn't want to go in because Mr. Moto was there, remember?"
Kaiba nodded once, signaling that he did remember. After that initial confrontation, he hadn't wanted to get anywhere near Yugi's grandfather. He felt uncharacteristically guilty about what he'd done to the old man, and seeing him at the hospital that one time, distraught and worried about his grandson, just made it seem that much worse.
"The doctor said that Yugi was still in a coma We overheard him. He said that other than that, Yugi was fine."
"But I want to go see him for myself, Seto. Can't we go?"
Kaiba sighed. He hated to argue with Mokuba when the younger boy got like this. He was about to open his mouth to say something else, when the phone rang. He frowned, but picked it up.
"Kaiba."
There was silence on the line, until the person on the other end spoke.
"This is Solomon Moto. I'm calling to speak to Mokuba."
Kaiba frowned, wondering why Yugi's grandfather would be calling his little brother.
"He's right here, just a moment." Kaiba shrugged and handed the phone to Mokuba. "It's Yugi's grandfather."
Mokuba's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he took the phone.
"Mr. Moto?"
Kaiba couldn't hear what was being said, but he did see Mokuba's eyes light up and his mouth quirk up in a grin.
"That's great! I'm on my way over, thank you for telling me," Mokuba said, then hung up the phone.
"Yugi's awake, Seto. You have to take me to see him."
Kaiba sighed, knowing when he was beat. He felt relief, knowing that the younger Moto was awake. He didn't know why, but it was slightly disconcerting.
"Fine, let's go."
*~*~*~*
Well, there you have it. What's wrong with Yugi? Is it *really* going to go away? Stay tuned to find out. More Kaiba in the next chapter, I promise!
I just have to say that I have the absolute best reviewers! You all rock! Give yourselves a big round of applause.. *hands clapping energetically* Thank you so much!!
Enjoy the next installment!
*~* Yami to Yugi *~*
*~~* Yugi to Yami *~~*
*~*~*~*
Part 7: Avoidance
"It's about time!"
Yugi smiled at the outburst, glad to see the sheer happiness and relief in Joey's face. Suddenly and without warning, Joey grabbed his shoulders, lifted him up and tightly embraced him. Yugi groaned in pain before he could stop himself, causing Joey to immediately release him. Yugi lay back on the bed, wincing.
"I'm sorry, Yugi, I should have been more careful."
"It's okay, Joey," Yugi said, feeling bad at the look of guilt on Joey's face. "I'm just still a little sore."
A little sore was seriously undermining the pain, however. Yugi's body felt as if it had been used for punching practice, which he supposed in a way, it had been. He looked down at his hands, seeing the white cast surrounding his right wrist and the two splints around his fingers. He lowered the sheet and winced even more at the sight of his bruised arms. He didn't have to look to see that his chest and legs probably looked the same.
"They did quite a number on you, Yug. What happened? Who attacked you?"
Yugi looked back up at his friend, debating whether or not to be entirely truthful. He wanted to tell Joey what had happened, but he didn't want to involve his friend in something he knew was bound to be dangerous.
"I don't really remember what happened, Joey."
*~* Lying to your best friend, Yugi? *~*
*~~* It's not a lie, it's an omission, Yami *~~*
"Yugi, you okay? You're spacing out."
Yugi smiled slightly, trying to reassure his friend. "I'm fine, Joey. Just a bit confused. How did I get here?"
Yugi saw Joey take a deep breath as he deposited his long body into a chair beside the bed. Yugi could see the differing emotions flickering through Joey's eyes and knew that whatever happened had left a deep impression on the older teenager. He reached out and lay his right hand on top of the hand Joey had left on the bed, trying to comfort his friend. Joey looked up at him and grinned sheepishly, before getting serious.
"Téa and I found you in the alley. Geez, Yug, I thought you were dead. There was so much blood and you looked so pale." Joey trailed off, and Yugi could see that Joey's other hand had been clenched into a fist. "I didn't know what to do. I literally ran into Kaiba as we were leaving the alley and demanded that he bring us to the hospital in his car. He obliged, and here we are."
"Kaiba brought me here?"
Joey nodded. "Hard to believe, isn't it? The cold hearted bastard actually has a heart. Either that, or he didn't like the fact that I reminded him that he owed you for saving him and Mokuba from Pegasus."
Yugi nodded, understanding the situation. He felt guilty that his friends had gotten involved in this. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.
*~* It's not your fault, Yugi, you know that. *~*
*~~* It is my fault. Look at Joey, he feels so bad about what happened and he wasn't responsible at all. *~~*
*~* Joey is your friend, of course he feels responsible *~*
"I should go and get the doctor, Yugi. I should get Gramps in there too, he's been really worried."
Yugi nodded and watched Joey go. He closed his eyes, letting himself feel every ache, every broken bone and bruised part of his body. He felt weak, disoriented and very tired. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep for a very long time.
"Yugi!"
The relieved and happy voice brought Yugi back to wakefulness, and he found himself staring at his grandfather's tear filled eyes. Thankfully, his grandfather was standing very close to him, or else Yugi would have had a hard time distinguishing him.
"Grandpa."
His grandfather walked carefully to the bed, leaned over and kissed Yugi's forehead, before taking his uninjured hand and squeezing it between his own.
"How are you feeling, Yugi? You had us all so worried."
"I'm okay. I'm in a little pain, but I'm okay."
Yugi looked behind his grandfather to see Joey standing there. Tea stood beside him, along with Tristan. Bakura stood behind all the others, close to the door. Upon more careful inspection, Yugi noticed that the only thing keeping Bakura in the room was Tristan's grasp on the boy's arm.
"Bakura, are you okay?"
The white haired boy seemed startled at being addressed. He looked at Yugi momentarily, before bowing his head.
"I'm fine, Yugi. I'm glad to see you're okay," came the soft reply.
Yugi frowned and noticed Tristan looking at him. The teenager shook his head slightly, signaling to Yugi to drop the subject. Yugi frowned, but decided to comply. He'd ask Tristan about it later. He looked at the rest of his friends and smiled gratefully.
"Thank you for being here. It means so much to me."
They all smiled widely.
"It was our pleasure Yugi," Téa said.
"Yeah, we're just glad you're okay," Tristan added.
"Okay, kids, I need you to leave the room now so I can examine my patient," an older, kind gentleman said as he walked into the room. He walked up to Yugi and smiled at him.
"Hello, Mr. Moto, you gave us quite a scare. I'm Dr. Suzuki, your physician. How are you feeling?"
Yugi looked up at the man and smiled slightly. "I'm fine."
Dr. Suzuki turned to everyone else. "Could you all please leave the room? I'd like to talk to Yugi for a few minutes."
They all nodded and complied, closing the door behind them.
"Okay, they're all gone now. Why don't you tell me how you really feel?"
Yugi examined the doctor, noting his relaxed posture and kind demeanor. He was tempted to lie to the man, but he figured that as his doctor, it was his duty to know what was going on.
"My head hurts," Yugi said and raised his left hand to probe at the bandage around his head. He stopped at the right temple and pressed down a bit. "Right here, it's worse."
The doctor nodded. "You had a skull fracture, Yugi. That's why you were unconscious for so long. The headache is a normal part of the recovery. Are you experiencing any dizziness or nausea?"
Yugi thought about it for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "I am a bit dizzy and I'm having some trouble seeing." His eyes widened as he looked up at the doctor. "It's not permanent, is it?"
The doctor chuckled. "No, it isn't. The swelling in your brain hasn't completely gone down, which is why your vision is blurred, and why you're dizzy and nauseous. Give it a couple of days and it'll be gone. How does the rest of your body feel?"
Yugi sighed and closed his eyes again. "It hurts. I feel like I've been run over."
Dr. Suzuki opened up the chart he was carrying and began writing in it.
"You took quite a beating, Yugi. Over time, you will recover. However, you have to take it easy. We have you on antibiotics to fight any possible infection, on painkillers for the pain, and on saline to hydrate you. You'll have to stay here a few more days, before I can release you to go home. For now, get some sleep. I'll tell your family and friends that you're going to be okay."
"Thank you, doctor."
The doctor nodded and left the room.
*~* You're lying to your doctor too? *~*
Yugi sighed as he heard his other half's voice in his head. He didn't fell like arguing with Yami about what information he was or was not willing to give.
*~~* I didn't lie. I told him that I felt lousy, didn't I? *~~*
*~* Not really. You told him what you thought he wanted to hear. Your vision is a lot more than blurry, and you know it. You should tell him that you can barely see anything. *~*
*~~* I don't want grandpa and everyone else to worry. The doctor said it would go away in a few days and it will. I need to get out of there, though *~~*
*~* Why, Yugi? Where do you need to go? *~*
*~~* I need to talk to Kaiba *~~*
****
"Big brother, why don't we go to the hospital to see Yugi?"
Seto Kaiba looked up from his computer to find Mokuba perched on his desk, staring at him intently. The younger boy's hair was disheveled, a clear sign that he'd been outside playing.
"We were just there yesterday, Mokuba."
"We didn't get anywhere near Yugi's room, Seto. You didn't want to go in because Mr. Moto was there, remember?"
Kaiba nodded once, signaling that he did remember. After that initial confrontation, he hadn't wanted to get anywhere near Yugi's grandfather. He felt uncharacteristically guilty about what he'd done to the old man, and seeing him at the hospital that one time, distraught and worried about his grandson, just made it seem that much worse.
"The doctor said that Yugi was still in a coma We overheard him. He said that other than that, Yugi was fine."
"But I want to go see him for myself, Seto. Can't we go?"
Kaiba sighed. He hated to argue with Mokuba when the younger boy got like this. He was about to open his mouth to say something else, when the phone rang. He frowned, but picked it up.
"Kaiba."
There was silence on the line, until the person on the other end spoke.
"This is Solomon Moto. I'm calling to speak to Mokuba."
Kaiba frowned, wondering why Yugi's grandfather would be calling his little brother.
"He's right here, just a moment." Kaiba shrugged and handed the phone to Mokuba. "It's Yugi's grandfather."
Mokuba's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he took the phone.
"Mr. Moto?"
Kaiba couldn't hear what was being said, but he did see Mokuba's eyes light up and his mouth quirk up in a grin.
"That's great! I'm on my way over, thank you for telling me," Mokuba said, then hung up the phone.
"Yugi's awake, Seto. You have to take me to see him."
Kaiba sighed, knowing when he was beat. He felt relief, knowing that the younger Moto was awake. He didn't know why, but it was slightly disconcerting.
"Fine, let's go."
*~*~*~*
Well, there you have it. What's wrong with Yugi? Is it *really* going to go away? Stay tuned to find out. More Kaiba in the next chapter, I promise!